Deuteronomy 36:6 says “Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” I remember hearing this at church when my mom was preaching. She told me to memorize the scripture but I had no idea why. Now I am glad I did. This scripture means that when you are going through struggles or need to make tough decisions, you are not alone. With God, we can find the strength to be courageous. This scripture tells us that instead of doing things on our own, we can lean on God for help. I used this scripture to give me the strength and courage to run for the Student Council President, advocate for a new (Extended Day) club, and go to Thailand for two weeks without my family. This year has already been a test of my courage and my willingness to do the things God wants me to do. 

On Friday, September 20th, 2024, my energy level was high. I was rushing all around school making sure everything was perfect. This would be the most important day for me at school and any mistakes could cause me the embarrassment of a lifetime. This was the day I would stand in front of everyone and tell them why they should vote for me for Student Council President. 

All morning, I practiced my speech. If you were to take one look at me, you would know I was a nervous wreck. I had spoken in front of the whole school before making speeches and announcements but this was different. I was scared of losing the election and my courage was slowly depleting. However, I knew if I wanted my speech to be the best, it would have to make an impact. So I came up with the idea of making my intro like they do in boxing. I had a friend introduce me and that gave me the confidence I needed to succeed. I made the speech without mistakes and my peers looked like they were fully invested. The more I recited the speech, the more that scared little voice in the back of my head got quieter. My confidence was through the roof at that point! My peers didn’t know how they helped give me the confidence I desperately needed. After that, I knew courage was something that should be practiced every day. Confidence gives you courage and helps you develop the drive you need to tackle life’s greater challenges. 

As the Student Council President for the 2024-2025 school year, I knew I wanted to be different.  I wanted to make an actual difference at WSG. I had the idea to start a debate club to improve my peer’s public speaking and advocating skills. It takes a lot of confidence to advocate for a new club but I learned from the past that fear of an outcome you might not want is one of the biggest things that hold you back. So I sent an email to Ms. Johnson (Director, Office of Student and Graduate Success) and scheduled a meeting to talk about my idea. She agreed that it was a wonderful idea! If I had let my fears get the best of me and not advocated for the new club, Ms. Johnson might not have thought have known of the idea. 

Confidence is such a great quality to have because it helps you do things you wouldn’t usually do. During the last two weeks of December, I will travel to Thailand as a Jeremy Cross Fellow in the CISV International Travel Program. This will be the longest I will be away from my family and even though I will be away from them for Christmas, the opportunity to go to Thailand was too good to pass up. The thing that really pushed me to say ‘yes’ to Thailand is knowing that the only way I’m going to continue to grow my confidence is to take this trip. It is important to me to not let the fears of what could go wrong with the trip keep me from going and to always look to the positive side of a situation. This opportunity is wonderful and too precious to give up because of fears. So even though being away from my family for Christmas will be the hardest test of my courage this year, I won’t let my fears get in the way of this monumental moment. 

In life, we will have challenges but it is our courage that can guide us. Courage is something that allows us to get over our fears and feeling unsure about things. Courage inspires us and helps us to grow and make a difference. By embracing our courageous side, we can become stronger, more effective people who see the world as full of opportunities.

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